I have a question about what to do with the frogs that are living in my goldfish pool when I bring the fish indoors for the winter. I was unable to find an answer by searching the web.

This summer I moved my goldfish from the little aquarium that they have outgrown to an outdoor pool. The pool is a plastic kiddie pool, two actually. I move the fish from one to the other when the water in the pond they are in needs changing. The pool has artificial water lilies and lily pads and other underwater caves and fake plants. I have a pump with tubing running into the pool that aerates the water. The fish have done well in their new bigger quarters and now, to my delight, several small frogs have joined my little water garden.

My dilemma is this: this summer we are having a drought. We have a small spring-fed brook on our property just across the lawn from the fish pool. The brook is bone dry right now. About a quarter mile up the road there is a small lake. Between our house and the lake, there is a vernal pool that only has water in the springtime. "Our" frogs may have hatched there. The other direction down the road a short distance there is a slightly larger stream that joins our currently dry brook.

In another month or so I will be bringing my goldfish into our heated cellar to spend the winter in a large plastic feed tub, emptying their outdoor pool and bringing it indoors also. I am hoping that our brook will by that time have water in it again.

My question is will "our" frogs be able to find their way to another water source, like the lake 1/4 mile away or the larger brook down the road, to hibernate under the mud under the water after I remove their present water source? If our brook is still dry at that time, will the frogs be able to find their way to a new water source further away? Should I try to capture the frogs and move them to water, or leave them to their own resources? It seems a long hike for the critters, but then they probably know what wintering grounds are suitable better than I. I'm very conflicted about this, but inclined to just let them be. Am I making the right choice for my little green friends? Thank you in advance for any guidance you can offer.

Here are pictures of two of "my" frogs: